When we walked off of the plane, I knew we were in for a treat. I had that feeling even before talking to our agency over at http://www.wahinecharters.com/project/captain-cook-snorkel/. That warm Hawaiian air welcomed us, and the lure of mai tais meant we hurried as fast as possible (in our rented mini van, ha!) to our resort.

Back in November, my family hopped on a plane with our dearest friends, and spent a week in Oahu. We adventured around the island … we stopped on the north shore, got roadside coconuts, had dinner at Benihana, visited Pearl Harbor, walked down the boardwalk in Waikiki, and took advantage of the pool. Of course, there was so much more … and a significant portion of the trip was navigating around the naps of our kids. #parenting

It was the trip of a lifetime. I’ll never get over the beautiful aqua water, the way I felt when we visited the USS Arizona, the laughs we had with our friends, the moments just staring out into the ocean, and the awe on Alba’s face when we saw fireworks on our last night.

I am so grateful for this experience! These are just a few of my favorite highlights from the trip (of course, we didn’t use our “fancy” camera much). See more on Instagram.